Olympic gold medal winner Anna Hopkin has thrown her support behind the Blackburn Centurions Swimming Club as the club aims to raise funds to stay afloat.

The swimmer, who won gold in the 4 x 100m medley in Tokyo, trained at the club from 2009 to 2017 and said during that time she “fell back in love with the sport”.

Blackburn Centurions are facing additional challenges due to rising pool hire costs and need to raise £10,000 to stay afloat for the next year.

Having originally trained with the Chorley Marlins and Lancashire Gallica, she made the switch to Blackburn at the age of 13 in a move away from competitive swimming.

Anna said: “When I was 13 I was really struggling with the sport and as I wasn’t taking it super seriously I decided to just be at Blackburn.

“They were super supportive of me and they made sure I enjoyed it rather than it being super serious, and there was always a great atmosphere.

“I went from not enjoying the sport to going to regular sessions and doing it for the enjoyment and the social.

“Whenever I trained at Blackburn, I went knowing I would enjoy it and that was the main thing for me.”

All coaches at the club are volunteers and give up a large amount of their spare time to share their expertise with the children.

One such coach was Lee Orrell, who trained Anna in her ambition to make the Bath University team.

Learning new strategies to develop her sprint swimming including boxing and weightlifting, Anna reached the 2014 British Championships in the 50m and 100m category.

You can click here to donate to the swimming club's fundraiser

Anna added: “When I left Gallica when I was 13, I didn’t think I would ever get back into competing again and it was the time at Blackburn where I started competing again.

“It was that period with Lee that made me realise what I was better at.

“If I hadn’t had the experience of training and competing I wouldn’t have wanted to join Bath, and I don’t think I would have ever got as far as I have now.

“The coaches were always incredibly supportive, and Lee travelled with me, and he was there to support and watch. It is a very personable club, and you feel part of it.”

READ MORE: Girl, 11, on mission to help ‘struggling’ Blackburn club that trained Olympian

Talent at the pool has continued to grow and this year saw numerous gold and silver medals at both the county and regional championships.

As pools around the county have continued to face growing costs and limited funds, Anna highlighted how the sport is not just important for emotional and physical health but also is a key survival instinct.

Anna added: “I know clubs around the country are struggling to get the support they need.

“Swimming is such an amazing sport and if the provision for school swimming is not that good, you need clubs that are passionate about what they do and want kids to learn to stay fit and stay healthy.”

Every penny raised through the page will go directly into supporting the club and its swimmers.

They have currently reached the £5,000 mark, with £1,600 of this coming from an inter-club swimming gala run by the team.

To donate to the fundraiser, visit www.gofundme.com and search Blackburn Centurions- Keep us swimming strong!